


Winteriron not-quite-AUs

by InnerCinema



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: (from ace to demi), Comfort, Crack, Demisexual Tony Stark, Fluff, Imprinting, M/M, Magic, More Magic, Prompt Fill, Time Travel, Tumblr: imaginetonyandbucky, collection, horny bunnies, sexual revelations, winteriron
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-04-10 09:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 12,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4386404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnerCinema/pseuds/InnerCinema
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of non-AU drabbles for the imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com ♥</p><p>Chapter 1: Mama Stark<br/>Chapter 2: The Winter Duckling (The Winter Soldier imprints on a young Tony)<br/>Chapter 3: Temporary Bunny-Vengers<br/>Chapter 4: Tony with magical wolf ears<br/>Chapter 5: One arm is not enough<br/>Chapter 6: Stress-Knitter Tony<br/>Chapter 7: Bucky's love letter<br/>Chapter 8: Protection 5 + 1<br/>Chapter 9: The arm pillow<br/>Chapter 10: Team Tony<br/>Chapter 11: Demisexual Tony<br/>Chapter 12: kiss-happy Tony<br/>Chapter 13: Stress-knitter Tony Part 2<br/>Chapter 14: Scared of horror movies<br/>.<br/>.<br/>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mama Stark

**Author's Note:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/124581592617/i-am-terrible-at-prompting-but-i-also-have-a-lot):
> 
> "I am terrible at prompting, but I also have a lot of Mama Stark feels, so I really want something to do with her that has like, little to do with Howard. I'd love Bucky to meet her, but batting that, maybe tony telling stories?"

Maria Stark, Bucky knew, was one of the two most important people in Tony’s early life. Both her and the original Jarvis had nurtured Tony’s caring and playful character whenever possible and probably shielded him somewhat from Howard’s discontent. Bucky knew, because whenever the annual Gala of the Maria Stark Foundation grew near, Tony would reminisce about his mother and during each story Tony did what Bucky liked best: smile.

So when Reed Richards called to tell them there had been some minor problems with time and space and that now Maria Stark was at the Baxter Building, waiting for her son to pick her up, Bucky was nervous as hell. Though when he saw Tony’s trembling hands he knew his own little freak-out could wait.

The elevator signaled their arrival at the Fantastic Four’s common area and Bucky’s heart was slamming repeatedly against his throat. At least Tony had eased the death-grip on Bucky’s flesh hand and even hesitantly stepped forward the moment he spotted the brunette woman next to Sue.

“Antonio!” Much less reluctant, Maria Stark rushed towards her son and pulled him into a bear-hug. “Tesoro mio.” She mumbled into his hair. 

Tony, reacting like a deer in the headlights at first, soon melt into her embrace, wrapping his arms tightly around her petite frame. “Mamma…” 

Trying to give them some privacy - Reed and Sue had long slipped away from the premise - Bucky averted his gaze and tried his best to become one with the elevator walls. This worked reasonably well until Maria Stark gasped: “James Barnes?” Out of reflex, Bucky looked right into a quizzical pair of brown eyes, just a shade lighter than Tony’s. “Mr. and Mrs. Richards assured me this was the future but… how?”

Bucky opened his mouth to speak but closed it again right after. ‘Yeah, well, I kind of died, then worked as a weapon for the bad guys, killed you and your husband and now I’m with your son until he realizes he’s better off with someone less broken.’ didn’t sound like a clarification that inspired confidence.

“It’s a long story, Mamma.” Tony took pity on him. “The gist is James is … well we’re now…” Even after three months they had yet to talk about the definition of their relationship but judging by the genuine fondness in Tony’s little smile right now, they were on the same page.

“Ahhh!” She gave them both a knowing smirk and patted Tony’s cheek. “You have grown so much but you’re still the same, bambino mio.” And Tony… At first, Tony looked as confused as Bucky felt. Then, apparently the epiphany hit and the man honest to god blushed. 

“Oh, no, no, no Mamma! This has absolutely nothing to do with… I don’t even…” The eloquent and charming Tony Stark sputtered with ears as red as tomatoes. Now this was intriguing!

“Oh, tesorino! You don’t need to be embarrassed! Only few people are fortunate enough to get to be with the person they wanted to marry since they were six.”

What?

“That wasn’t… That was just a short phase!”

“Antonio Eduardo don’t lie to your mother. Where-” She paused and corrected herself. “Or rather when I come from you are thirteen years old and just yesterday I caught you watching one of those documentaries on the Howling Commandos sighing like a lovesick puppy.”

“What?” the moment Bucky voiced his bafflement, two pairs of brown eyes were on him: one mortified, one fondly amused. “I mean - wasn’t your dad all about Steve?”

Tony groaned but his mother chuckled. “Yes, Howard is very… fond of Captain Rogers. But Antonio’s godmother tended to counteract his speeches about Captain America with stories about the Howling Commandos when bambino was around five or six.” Maria mused with a mischievous air. “Peggy always likes to rile Howard up but even she didn’t expect Antonio’s little crush.”

Judging by the face Tony pulled, Bucky’s grin was probably way too wide and way too gleeful but Mama Stark had just shot about 50% of his remaining insecurities right into space and if that wasn’t something to internally dance about, he didn’t know what was. He peeled himself away from the elevator wall and held out his hand to her. “Mrs. Stark, I am so glad to get to meet you.”

“Likewise! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, James.” She smiled as she shook his hand. “And please, call me Maria.” As it turned out, Tony’s more private smiles were rather Carbonell than Stark and Bucky couldn’t help to smile back. “Now, I’m not sure how long I will get to stay here. So why don’t we get some coffee and maybe some cake?” She turned to look at Tony. “Do you still love those little éclaires?”

At Tony’s suspiciously noncommittal shrug, Bucky snorted. “Last week you almost shot Clint for eating the last one.”

“Thought so.” Maria chuckled and linked arms with each of them, effectively steering them back into the elevator. “Now tell me, who is this Clint? Is he one of your superhero friends?”

As he watched Tony explain the walking timebomb that was the Avengers, he felt a cozy warmth spread inside of him. Tony liked him, his mother was at least okay with him and maybe, if he played his cards right, he would get some adorable stories out of this visit.


	2. The Winter Duckling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/129920255370/imagine-tony-and-bucky-having-met-before-when-tony):
> 
> "Imagine Tony and Bucky having met before when Tony was a child. for some reason or another Tony is stuck in Bucky's brain and he follows Ton's growth (witch isn't hard considering media follows him everywhere) and when Steve brings Bucky to the tower Bucky takes to following Tony like a lost duckling because he knows him."

“Mister?“ the light voice brought the Soldier back from his almost doze. A shiver ran through his body, stirring the blanket of snow that had covered him by now but otherwise he did not move. 

“Mister? Why are you sitting in the snow? Jarvis says you can get sick from sitting in the snow. Why aren’t you wearing a jacket? Or a scarf? Aren’t you cold?”

When he finally did look up, the steady stream of chatter stopped immediately but the child in front of him did not seem scared, simply startled. It was strange. People did not notice him, did not care much or looked scared. This boy only looked like he was waiting for an answer and since he was not sure about his mode of operation in such a situation, the Soldier simply shrugged. 

The shrug triggered a new wave of shivers. He tried to curl even more into himself, pulling his legs closer to preserve all the body heat he could (handlers did not like when the Soldier was damaged) without letting the boy out of sight.

Warm, brown eyes stared at him in intense contemplation before small, gloved hands unwrapped the thick, red scarf from the boy’s neck. It was long and woolen and only when the boy closed the distance between them, the Soldier realized what was happening.

“Here, mister! Take it!” the boy said with a shy smile, holding it in outstretched arms for the Soldier to take. “I have more at home. Nana made it for me but I think it’s okay if I let you have it.”

When the Soldier still did not take the gift, the boy’s face scrunched up in confusion. 

“Don’t you like the red?” He looked at the scarf, apparently still thinking very hard, before some kind of epiphany came to him. “Are you too cold to move? Daddy says Captain America is trapped somewhere in the ice and that he can’t free himself even though he is Captain America because he’s too cold to move… Wait! I got it!”

The Soldier did not understand what the boy was babbling about but it was oddly comforting. This was probably why he did not even twitch when the boy was suddenly up in his personal space trying to wrap his scarf around the Soldier’s neck. It did not chase away the cold but it was nice nonetheless. 

“-thony! ANTHONY! Where are you?! Hurry up, son, we need to go!” At the sound of the yell, the boy flinched in surprise and let go of the scarf.

“I’m sorry, mister.” he whispered almost conspiratorial. “I need to go. I hope you won’t get sick!” And with one last smile the boy ran towards the end of the alley leading towards the main street.

A bit after the boy was out of sight and the sound of his steps swallowed by the snow, the Soldier nuzzled into the red wool and, pondering about the strange boy, he felt warmer inside and a little less hollow.

♠

The Soldier was supposed to be watching his target through the scope but for a few moments his eyes lingered on the TV-show the woman in question was watching on mute: A teenager with brown eyes and brown hair in some kind of formal attire. Next to him, they showed a photograph of a man very similar to the boy. 

‘Anthony Stark, son of Howard Stark and heir to Stark Industries graduates MIT at the age of 16.’ the headlines said.

While he stared, the Soldier unconsciously lifted one hand to touch the red wool-thread he kept hidden for no other reason than some odd, yet strong feeling.

A movement quickly brought him back to his task, though and all was forgotten the moment his target got off the phone.  
He still had a mission.

♠

The man behind the wheel looked familiar. _  
_

_Hurry up, son, we need to go!_

The Soldier thought of the red thread – a moment later he took the shot.

♠

When he first met Tony Stark he thought of warmth despite snow and the bit of red wool he’d probably lost during the battle in DC or shortly after - memories of that time were still a bit hazy. Tendrils of the programming still clung to him but this was the first welcome impression of his past as the Soldier. He just couldn’t pinpoint why exactly he was feeling like he did.

All in all, Tony seemed to be the only pleasant link between the Soldier and Bucky-2.0 as Clint and Tony had dubbed him in jest – much to Steve’s dismay – so at least to Bucky it was no wonder that he eventually searched Tony’s company.

It started with times when Steve was out for a run or on a mission and morphed into excuses like bringing food down to the workshop or help with heavy lifting until Tony outright told him he was welcome any time, really.

And if Bucky watched Tony a bit longer after the engineer had returned to his task, warmth spreading inside, nobody but JARVIS had to know.

♠

“Hell no! I’m getting hypothermia just by looking at you! At least wear a damn scarf.” Tony’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Bucky’s bare throat.

“I don’t get cold easily.” He shrugged. “And Steve says the restaurant isn’t far. I don’t really –“ But it was too late: Tony had already conjured a bright yellow scarf from the depth of the cloakroom and wrapped it around Bucky’s neck. He was about to protest or grumble when he became aware of the knitting pattern and the feel of the soft wool on his skin. “Did your Nana knit that one too?” The words came out of his mouth before he knew what he was doing and Tony’s smile turned into good-humored confusion.

“Yes, it’s quite old so be carefu– how do you know?!”

“Well… you better give me another since I already lost the red one.” Bucky shrugged and did not try to fight the smile that came with the sudden surge of memory and fondness.

Realization dawned on Tony’s face and he started to chuckle, patting the fabric he’d just finished wrapping. “Nah, you keep this one. At least this time I can make sure you don’t lose it again.” Tony grinned and winked at him before he linked arms with Bucky and pulled him towards the elevator.


	3. Temporary Bunny-Vengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/130066643487/so-when-a-was-in-bed-i-started-thinking-about):
> 
> "So when a was in bed I started thinking about pairing names, theres stucky, stony and stuckony, but what's the name when you take steve out of the equation? that led me to Buny, but in my head it sounded like Bunny! So how about a fic where tony and bucky get turned into bunnies? And maybe it's spring and they even try to go at it like bunnies? And the rest of the avengers have to try and keep them apart but they make such horrible distressed squeeks when they're being seperated..."

“Aww, Tones, no! Damn it Bucky, what have I ever done to you to deserve to see this?!” Clint’s dismayed call came from the kitchen. The first times after their teammates’ magical transformation, everyone’d still thought the bunnies were eating all the lettuce or something equally annoying yet adorable. But no, they were not that lucky because apparently both Bunny-vengers had decided to use magic as a pretense to finally work out their insufferable sexual tension. At first it was sweet but only three hours later it was plain annoying for everyone on Bunny-duty.

“I was gone for two minutes! How the hell did he free himself?!” Steve’s incredulous voice made Natasha snicker.

“Well apparently even as a bunny Stark’s a friggin genius!” Clint growled. “And we obviously underestimated the power of boners.”

“I just hope the magic doesn’t dissipate while they’re… well…” She couldn’t see Steve from her position but she was sure he was waving awkwardly at the general direction of the humping rabbits.

 _Men…_ Natasha thought, rolling her eyes and rising from the couch. “How many times do I have to tell you to either lock them up in a room and leave them at it or separate them as in ‘two separate rooms’.” She sighed and entered the kitchen.

“Yeah, well, be our guest because I can’t stand the pathetic horny squeaking.” Clint complained. 

“Clint, stop whining and Steve take a bunny. I don’t care which one.” Natasha ordered and without leaving Steve room to decide she grabbed a fluffy ball of fur by the neck and pulled it unceremoniously off of the other bunny. As soon as they were separated, the distressed squeaks started up. It sounded like they were about to be slaughtered. _Men!_ Natasha thought less charitably than last time and held the squirming rabbit – Bucky – so they were eye to eye. 

“Yasha, I will make a new muff out of your fur if you don’t stop right now.” She growled. The fidgeting stopped instantly and the squeaking resolved into pathetic whines while big eyes stared at her. It was hard to look away or worse: let the pitiful furball have its way but after a moment the Black Widow pulled herself together and looked at Steve who was desperately trying to wrangle a panicked Tony-bunny without accidentally pressing too hard.

“Let’s put them into Stark’s bedroom and hope for the best. I don’t think separating them the whole time would do us any good.”

“You’re right.” Steve nodded and turned towards the stairs leading to the penthouse. “I mean I’m happy for them but…”

“I know, Steve. I want to strangle them too.”


	4. Wolf-ear Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/130206420887/imagine-on-aprils-fools-day-loki-decides-to-be-a):
> 
> "imagine on April's fools day Loki decides to be a little shit and give Tony either wolf ears and a tail for 24 hours to get back at him for that 'performance issues' comment Tony made during the battle of New York. Tony is not amused, Clint keeps making horrible puns, Bucky thinks Tony looks absolutely adorable, Sam is confused, Steve gives up on trying to get Clint to stop teasing Tony and everyone else just rolls with it."

Only on rare occasions did Tony Stark openly admit to regretting past actions. The moment the golden light of Loki’s magic hit and engulfed him, Tony was well-nigh inclined to actually apologize for his joke on the God’s expense.

Right until he got a look into a reflecting surface. Especially when he heard Clint’s not at all suppressed snickers at his expense. It didn’t help that his newly acquired furry ears and tail expressed his annoyance by twitching.

“Bird brain, shut the fuck up or I swear I’ll shoot you a second asshole, asshole.” Tony growled and whirled around to look at the offending dirtbag in question.

“Aw! Are you gonna go all big bad wolf on me?” Clint countered unapologetically.

“Clint, please don’t antagonize him again. You know what happened with your arrows the last time.” Steve tried but was thoroughly ignored by both when Tony rushed past their fearless leader to pull the snarky bastard from his perch on the entertainment center. 

Tony gave an undignified yelp and flailed his arms when Steve pulled him away by the collar of his shirt. This triggered even more laughter which of course resulted in more eager attempt by Tony to free himself from Steve’s grasp.

“Stop it already!” Steve ordered with his Captain America voice and for once the other two fell silent. “Thank you.” He tentatively let go of Tony and pointed at the archer. “Clint, stop with your jokes. Tony, Thor is with Loki right now to get him to reverse this spell. Until then just… I don’t know… don’t kill Clint.”

“What the…” Sam’s incredulous voice announced the return of the breakfast bagel team aka Sam and James. While the former was gaping at Tony in plain confusion, the latter looked more like a kid on Christmas and immediately abandoned the paper bag in favor of coming over and petting Tony’s ears. Tony tried to glare, especially since James looked really close to cooing but… it actually felt pretty good and when James started scratching behind his new ears it became simply divine.

“Oh my god! He’s wagging his tail!”

Tony only faintly registered the laughter because James had just found the ultimate spot and – yes! There you go! Only when they heard a noise of distress and a loud thump, James stopped his heavenly petting and both looked at Natasha who had apparently pulled Clint down from his perch and was now sitting on him, checking her nails.

“Okay, I’m hungry. Who else wants cream cheese?” Bruce, who had calmly been watching the whole spectacle from his position on the couch got up and strolled past James and Tony giving his science bro a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before heading to the kitchen. He was eagerly followed by a bunch of hungry superheroes and just like that, the pair were the only ones left in the room.

“Hey there~” Tony leaned a bit closer. His smile might have been a bit dopey but James had just resumed petting his ears.

“Hey there~” James said with a smile of his own right before leaning in and kissing him. “For the record:” James mumbled against his lips. “- I really like your new ears.”

“No, really?!” Tony deadpanned and was rewarded with a tug on his left ear.

“Yes, really.” James chuckled and kissed him once more with fervor.


	5. One arm is not enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/133344000817/imagine-tony-secretly-building-bucky-a-new-arm-but):
> 
> "imagine tony secretly building bucky a new arm but never giving it to him for fear he might be overstepping his bounds, or that bucky would reject it, or that it's not good enough, etc. but as his infatuation with bucky grows, tony just can't stop himself from secretly perfecting his designs and constantly building new prototypes, until one day bucky happens to find every single model tony's ever built."

It takes some time from their first meeting to the first time Tony is allowed to get his hands on Barnes’ arm. Waiting for tech to sing for him has never really been one of his fortes so he’s already disassembled and reassembled the arm several times with the help of JARVIS’ scans and half finished the blueprints for a new one by the time Steve accompanies his best friend down to Tony’s wonderland. But the real deal is so much more intricate, a masterpiece, really. So instead of getting to work on the new arm right away, he keeps his mouth shut and throws the blueprints out of the metaphorical window to start anew. This arm is a challenge and he is sure he could do so much better.

He’d never ever thought that this damn arm would take up more of his headspace than the Iron Man suit, though.

It’s not immediate. Tony starts it as a pet project. Pepper tells him some people take up knitting but for him, tinkering is the true well of relaxation. But with every day Tony gets to know Barnes a bit more, gets to like him a bit more, the model he’s building at the moment is not right. May it be a remark about Inspector Gadget that makes Tony invent new ways of fitting in new bits and pieces into the arm or a complaint about the weight of the original arm that makes him invent a lighter yet sturdier metal, Tony always finds a flaw in his current model and so it lands in a storage room that slowly but surely becomes the wet dream of freaky anime porn inventors.

♠

Or at least that’s what Pepper says when she first sees the insides of said storage room. The look she gives him, though, is totally undeserved since she’s seen him in way more compromising situations. It’s just a science project - and by Tesla, after all the shit he’s been going through, Barnes deserves ~~the perfect~~ a good arm.

When he tells her as much, the look increases and he throws her out.

♠

As time passes, he finds himself spending more and more time with the one-armed bandit who has long made a transition from Barnes to Buckaroo to Honeypuff to James. After months of working together, Tony feels close to his teammates but James and him, that’s something else. Clint calls them ‘thick as thieves’, Thor calls them ‘true shieldbrothers’ and Natasha simply calls them idiots (but both have learned heir lesson to flip her off).

It’s new, it’s nice and if he catches himself staring at and thinking about James more than it probably appropriate, he knows better than to ponder on it.

♠

This all changes, when Rhodey’s got his first leave in forever. As always, Tony goes all out to make him feel at home: They all go out for junk food and finish off with a nice bar. The team’s acceptance of his best friend warms his heart and lifts his mood indefinitely. So much even, that he feels brave enough not to think about everyone else’s opinion and just be himself.

That’s probably why when everyone else is playing pool and Tony’s all about telling Rhodey how great James is, that he spills the beans about the over fifty arms he’s already got stashed in a closet.

“That sounds pretty serious, Tones.” Rhodey gives him a fond smile that confuses him even more than his words.

“”Why? That’s what you do for friends-”

“Nope.” His best friend shakes his head. “A friendly turn would be periodic check ups on his arm, maybe build a better one. What you are doing… that’s a full blown love confession.”

This statement freezes the genius. He doesn’t even question Rhodey’s assessment since the man has pretty much been his social compass since MIT and instead repeats every interaction he’s had with James over the past few months and for the first time in forever he assesses the accompanying feelings he’s been burying for just as long.

“Oh.” He says a moment after the revelation’s hit.

Rhodey just pats his back with a fond smile and that’s it. The earth revolves around the sun and Tony Stark is in love with Bucky Barnes.

That doesn’t mean he’s gonna tell him.

(Looking at Galiei’s history, it’s probably for the best.)

♠

Bucky doesn’t know what he’s doing here. He’s alone in Tony’s sanctum and it feels wrong in so many way’s he has already lost count. But Tony’s in a meeting and he doesn’t want to bother him even though all he wants is see him and his arm isn’t really working and JARVIS told him there would be a quick and easy solution down in the workshop but now that he’s here, Bucky’s not so sure anymore.

Slowly, he walks down the path the AI has lighted for him, holding his arm tight and trying not to think of how dead the space looks without Tony in it. The light leads him to a closed door that swings open the moment he steps close enough and what it reveals makes him pause his steps: There are at takes 60 or 70 left arms in this storage room, all propped up on a frame. They all differ in color and shape but they’re obviously designed to belong to him and all Bucky can do is gape.

“What… How… Did…” He stutters and is glad when JARVIS takes pity on him.

“Sir started designing those arms the moment he met you. They will all fit to your base but if I may…” The AI puts a spotlight to a model on the right side. “This is the version Sir is most fond of.”

So he steps forward, letting his eyes trace the new arm reverently. Knowing that Tony used so much of his precious time to perfect an arm for him? That’s pretty special and warms him even more than being witness of Tony’s rare genuine smiles. Cautiously he reaches out for the arm when he hears familiar footsteps.

“J, where is he? Is the arm hurting him? Maybe-” And that’s probably the moment the genius registers the open door but Bucky is done with playing hide and seek. With fast steps he is out of the door and right in Tony’s space, breathing in the familiar scent of metal and fancy aftershave and pure Tony before his right hand slides to the back of the man’s head to pull him in for a kiss.


	6. Stress-knitter Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/136685227181/tony-is-a-stress-knitter-he-knits-all-the-time-as):
> 
> "Tony is a stress-knitter, he knits all the time as long as nobody could possibly see it. Videocall for SI? He will knit. He is benched for a mission? He will knit. Nobody knows it until Bucky gets sleeves for his arm…many sleeves…for every cold day. Bonuspoints: Bucky caught Tony trying to slip his newest creation over Buckys arm while he slept."

One of the best kept secrets in Tony’s life is his ability to knit. It came right after JARVIS’ code and his fear of cockroaches. And it isn’t just simply two-left-two-right run-of-the-mill knitting, no, Tony can knit scarves, hats, jackets, sweaters, dresses and on occasions even warm underwear and all this in elaborate patterns and color schemes without even looking.

He’d been ‘forced’ to learn during his first summer break at MIT when Roberta Rhodes decided he was way too squirrely when stressed. So after a while of complaining for appearances sake he started to enjoy himself, letting the soft click-clack of needles and the constant stream of numbers soothe him enough to even stay calm through yet another argument with Howard over the phone. 

After that, he knitted whenever he wasn’t tinkering and, after Obie found out about his hobby shortly after his parents’ death, only when nobody could see. Of course there were exception such as the Rhodes family and later on Happy and Pepper who kept his secrets and in turn were compensated with beautiful knitted goods. (Pepper was especially fond of the white Cashmere cardigan he’d knitted for her one Christmas)

So when the Avengers start to follow up on his invitation to the tower, Tony doesn’t really think of sharing his secret with the team. It’s not an active decision but, despite Stane’s death, a passive reaction to outsiders not privy to his secret. Though that doesn’t mean he won’t knit the occasional present when the mood strikes and claim it to be a commission.

To be honest, he’s surprised none of the spies find out despite living together in relatively close quarters.

Even Bucky, with whom he instantly gets on like house on fire and with whom he starts to literally set his bed on fire after a few months of dancing around (candlelight sex is now banned from the penthouse), doesn’t notice his hobby. 

The thing is: Bucky’s metal arm sucks in all the heat which is nice in summer but kind of horrible during the colder seasons. And even though the cold tends to make his shoulder all stiff, Bucky just shrugs and says he doesn’t mind, that he’s been trained to not mind and anyway it’s fine. But it’s not, Tony decides, and thus starts to design an extra warm sleeve for his boyfriend’s metal appendage. So while he works on finding a foolproof way of regulating the arm’s temperature he knits away and not two days later, Bucky is presented with the first of many sleeves: it’s made from merino wool, light gray with anthracite gray stripes with a simple Basketweave and a special kind of magnetic elastic band so it sticks to the seam at the shoulder.

Again, he claims to have ordered it after being on the receiving end of one too many frostbite and is promptly rewarded with a blowjob that makes Tony promise a different sleeve for every cold day.

At first he randomly combines patterns and colors but as time progresses, he starts to find a combination for every teammate: a navy blue [Overlapping Waves](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.knittingstitchpatterns.com%2F2014%2F09%2Foverlapping-waves.html&t=OTI2ZjliMGQ5MGQzZDg5YjFmZDQ1ZWY0MzJmNTk1ZGQ4YTA3MDZjNSxLQzREaFYyVA%3D%3D) pattern for Steve, [Cluster Quilting](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.knittingstitchpatterns.com%2F2014%2F08%2Fcluster-quilting.html&t=NmU0MTkwNWE5NTIwMGVlMzFjMTE5ZDZkN2JhNTFmMDM4MGUzZGExNSxLQzREaFYyVA%3D%3D) pattern in black and red for Natasha, a slightly revised purple [Dandelion Flower](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.knittingstitchpatterns.com%2F2014%2F11%2Fdandelion-flowers.html&t=MmViMWFhZGEzYWE1YjBkN2ZmMWM3NDQzNWRhOGMxNjliZTI2MzA0YixLQzREaFYyVA%3D%3D) pattern for Clint so it looks like little arrows instead of flowers, a honeycolored [celtic knot](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F736x%2F3a%2F63%2Ff5%2F3a63f5c484e4afbfcb92b3db71f58c11.jpg&t=MzM4NDMxYTI5YmZiMjhjMDY1NTY4MzQ3ZWY1OWMwMjQwNzM0NTU0OSxLQzREaFYyVA%3D%3D) pattern for Thor and a deep green [Lace Cable](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.knittingstitchpatterns.com%2F2014%2F11%2Flace-cable.html&t=NzgwYmExNDRmZGUyYTQzMDliMDAwNWEzYTExNmJlZjNlZjI5YjIyYSxLQzREaFYyVA%3D%3D) pattern for Brucie.

And nobody doubts his claim – he doesn’t even have to show the fake business card he made for that exact purpose. Everyone just buys the story of this reclusive old woman that has been knitting for Tony Stark for years.  
Until one winter’s day, that is.

During one nightly video call with a bunch of people SI-Japan’s R&D he tries out the new alpaca wool he ordered. The rather natural red and yellow coloring is beautiful and the wool itself seems to keep warmer than the usual merino. But when he’s done for the night, he realizes the new sleeve (little iron man masks) might be a tad too tight. He stretches the fabric a bit but still isn’t sure so he takes the whole thing (sleeve, needles and the ball of wool) with him to the penthouse. It’s half past three in the morning and Tony’s not all too concerned to wake his lover up when he gently threads the metal hand through the opening and carefully starts to pull the sleeve up. And that’s when Bucky starts to stir.

“Tony? What‘re you doing?” he mumbles and tries to roll onto his back but pokes himself with one of the long knitting needles still situated in the stitches. “What the…?”

“Erm…” Tony starts.

“JARVIS, 30 percent lights please.” Bucky asks and when the room starts to light up, he lifts his arm to examine the fabric.

“Uh…” Tony tries again when the other’s gaze falls on him.

“This is a sleeve.” Tony nods dumbly. “And you made this.” It’s not a question but after a short hesitation Tony nods once more. “Was there ever an old Miss Rutherford?”

“Uhm kind of? She was Rhodey’s and my landlady during MIT. And she did knit. But mostly for her 14 cats.” Tony shrugs, not sure what to do with himself. His hands are starting to itch for something to do.

“So you knitted all those things?”

“Yes.”

A bit confused he watches Bucky’s nostrils flare as he stares at the unfinished sleeve. “That is so fucking hot.” He rasps and within seconds he is up in Tony’s space grabbing him by the neck and kissing him senseless.

“Yeah?” Tony mumbles, still not believing that this is happening.

“Oh yeah.” Bucky answers and after he’s disentangled himself from the sleeve and carefully put it on the nightstand, he shows Tony how hot he really finds his knitting skills.


	7. Bucky's love letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/137023906903/imagine-bucky-writing-tony-an-old-fashioned-love):
> 
> "Imagine Bucky writing Tony an old fashioned love letter and ended up not giving it because he's Tony Stark and Bucky thinks he doesn't care about old, traditional, paper letters. Tony loves it and read it over and over of course, because with every stroke and every word he could feel how much Bucky puts his feelings into it."

Dear Tony,

I cannot tell you how much I have missed you this last week, missed listening to your science talk or watching you work or argue with the bots or sitting next to you during movie nigh. And I cannot describe the gratitude I have felt when I saw you standing on the landing deck when I returned.  
You were the first to treat me like I don’t have to be anyone but me. You are the one that makes me smile, makes even the worst day brighter – You and your wit and passion and generosity.  
As you can see I am trying to compose a beautiful letter to you in the sleepless hours of the night but all I want to tell you is: I love you. I am reduced to wanting you, day and night. I want to kiss you, hold you, worship you, explore every inch of your body with my lips, listen to your every word and do everything in my power to see you happy.   
I feel presumptuous writing this to you but if I am not misreading things, I would like to take you out to dinner or dancing or the next science fair. I do not care as long as it is with you.  
Please say yes and make me the happiest man alive.

Always yours,  
James Buchanan Barnes

Tony read the letter again and again. At first he couldn’t quite believe what he saw but the second time his eyes wandered over those lines, he simply wanted to burn every single word into his memory. Never in his whole life had he ever received a love letter. And this letter, handwritten and all, was picture-perfect. If the unnaturally neat lettering was anything to go by, Bucky had pre-written the text on another page and then copied it onto the expensive hand-made paper. One could still barely make out the soft pencil line with which the paper had been ruled by hand. 

With each sentence Tony imagined how Bucky had poured his thoughts on scratch paper in messy scrawl, how he’d probably crossed out and rephrased and in the end deemed well enough to finally copy on the good paper. The thought made him feel even warmer and fuzzier than before.

He felt the urge to press the letter to his chest and grin like a lovesick teenage girl but the fact that he was a bit old for those antics and that he wasn’t alone kept him from giving in. However nobody could deter him from putting the letter under his pillow or to do something equally sappy.

„Look, he likes it!“

Steve’s voice tore him from his blissful thoughts and made him look up: Bucky, who, when Steve had presented Tony with the letter, had thrown himself at his best friend with a loud battle cry, was now on the ground. Steve had Bucky’s hands pinned above his head and, for good measure, sat on his torso so all the other could do was struggle with his legs. 

Tony thought it was incredibly endearing and vowed to ask JARVIS for one or ten screenshots of the surveillance camera feed. 

But only after a moment did the words sink in- „Of course I like the letter.” He agreed. „It’s from you!“ He took a few steps and crouched down next to Bucky’s head. 

“The answer is yes, by the way. Dinner sounds nice.” He smiled at the hope and joy that washed over Bucky’s face. 

“Tonight at eight?” 

Bucky nodded. 

“Great.” Tony’s smile became even fonder and probably a lot sappier when he got to his knees. “I’ll be ready then.” He said and kissed Bucky on the cheek. 

Then, Tony got up and looked pensively at the letter. “You know I’ll expect more of those, right?” 

And with one last look at a rather stunned Bucky, Tony left. After all, had to memorize a certain letter.


	8. Protection 5 + 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/142017514493/how-about-a-5-1-imagine-five-times-bucky):
> 
> "How about a 5+1? Imagine five times Bucky protected Tony and the one time Tony protected Bucky (or the other way is fine too! Thanks!)"

“Okay this is not going as well as expected.” Tony mumbled to himself as he worked on a bob that seemingly consisted of more colorful cables than actual explosives - and that said something because damn, those were a lot of explosives. HYDRA had apparently reverted to literally blowing their data up before it fell into the wrong hands and had installed said bomb in their server room. As the timer counted down (yes, it still had a timer), Tony had JARVIS download as much as possible but after a few calculations, he was forced to see that an explosion of that size would endanger more than just the one room.

“Iron Man, what’s your status?”

Tony jumped at Steve’s bark. Had he forgotten to turn off his com unit again? “I found a bomb and it would probably take too long to deactivate and -”

He hadn’t seen or heard him approach but all of a sudden Barnes was there and shoved him a few inches to the right. Within seconds, the former assassin quickly eyed the contraption before he snapped a turquoise with his left thumb and index finger. Before Tony could form any kind of protest, the timer stilled. Huh.

“- or you could do that.” Tony ended his sentence lamely and kept staring at Barnes. “How the fuck did you know it was this one?! You could have blown us all to bits!”

Barnes merely shrugged. “Standard CM 3748 Confusion Model from the 70s.”

“Uh… Okay. Thanks.”

Barnes just nodded and headed back to the fight.

♠

When Tony got back from his two week business trip all over Asia, all he wanted was some pizza and a nice, calm evening in front of the TV, preferably with the team. Little did he know that in his absence said team had started a prank war to fight boredom. So when he entered the common floor, he did not see the nylon string in the doorway around the height of his ankles.

“Stark! Down!” Pulled him from his musings right on time to see Barnes running towards him and tackling him to the ground. Only moments later two cream pies whooshed over their heads and smacked against the opposite wall.

Tony groaned and stared at the pies that slowly slid down the wall.

“What the…”

“Barton.” Barnes stated as if that would explain everything (which it probably did) and got back to his feet in one smooth movement. Then he held his hand out for Tony to grab and pulled the genius upward when he did.

“3… 2… 1.”

“CLINT! WE SAID NO FOOD!”

Both men shared a grin when Steve’s voice carried through the communal area.

♠

Tony really hated charity galas now that he tried not to drink anymore. How could anyone attend these parties full of narcissistic snobs waxing on and on about their generosity sober and have a good time? But those social events were for the good of SI, the Avengers’ public image and, most importantly, for the good of the relevant cause even though Tony, for the life of him, couldn’t remember what tonight’s event was hosted for.

But all those reasons seemed to slowly lose their weight in when you were cornered by a gaggle of women with varying degrees of intent and inebriation. With each passing moment the smiles felt more straining, the verbiage and the expected flirting more hollow and fake which was why the sight of Barnes - no, Bucky - felt like rain after a drought. Bucky was all gentleman when he inserted himself into the group. He winked at the swooning ladies and sent a reassuring smile Tony’s ay before grabbing the billionaire’s elbow with his right.

“Excuse me, ladies, but I have to abduct Mr. Stark here for a little while. Avengers business. I’m sure you understand.” And with that they left the appropriately charmed group and headed for a room Tony recognized as a small study.

“So, what’s up?” Tony asked the moment he’d closed the door behind himself.

“Nothing.” Bucky settled into an armchair without a care. “You just looked like you’d either bolt or murder them all with your glass of juice if you didn’t get a break soon.” Then, he actually smiled at Tony and wow, that was always a sight to behold. “We can always pretend you had to fix something on my arm and in the meantime… I bet a rich kid like you knows how to play chess.” He motioned at the little chess table in front of his chair.

“You have the best ideas.” Tony grinned and let himself fall into the opposite armchair.

♠

“For the hundredth time: Aquaman should not be able to control whales! They’re mammals! It makes no sense!” Tony entered the kitchen, walking backwards because he needed to see when Clint finally surrendered to logic. Due to his way of locomotion he didn’t see the chair that stood in his way. He hit it with full force and would have tripped and fallen if not for Bucky’s hands that quickly grabbed him by the waist.

“Careful.” Bucky chuckled as he steadied him.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Against his will, Tony blushed as he nodded though he quickly rediscovered his wits when Clint made gagging noises.

“Shut up” You don’t even know basic biology, Hawkass!”

“But whales are fishes!”

♠

“Fuck!”

And then everything went black.

-

When Tony and the suit’s system came back to life, the battle was still raging on. He’d been for quite a few minutes according to the clock to his right. How has he not been attacked by the…

When the visual came back online he could see the Winter Soldier standing above the Iron Man armor tearing any alien in halves that dared to approach them. Tony took a moment to appreciate the lifesaving gesture as well as the magnificent view of Bucky’s glorious backside. If they ever needed to watch the Iron Man feeds from recent battles, Tony would probably have to move somewhere far, far away. Wakanda maybe.

“Sir, the others are quite concerned. Perhaps you should assure them of your well being.”

“Yeah, J. You’re right.” Tony sighed and with one last look at the greatest butt in all the land he activated the com.

♠

“… So if you still want to sue a prisoner of war for things he was forced to do by some of the most inhuman means possible, go ahead. But you have to get past me first.” Tony grinned, apparently confident of victory. “Well, me and my army of top notch lawyers, of course.”

While the others jubilated, Bucky sat in silence and stared at the screen. During a normal run-in-the-mill Avengers press conference some reporter had asked why the Winter Soldier had not yet been convicted for his crimes and started one giant onslaught on Tony, who’d been on press duty.

It’s not as if he wasn’t already crazy for the guy but Tony declaring loud and proud he had Bucky’s back no matter what… that pretty much sealed the deal.

So it was no wonder that when Tony came home for dinner that evening, Bucky  ceased the moment to walk up to the genius, cradle the back of his neck with the right and his face with the left hand and pull him into a deep kiss.


	9. The arm pillow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/145965189198/crack-tony-sleeps-with-buckys-old-arm-obvi-tony):
> 
> "Crack: Tony sleeps with Bucky's old arm (obvi Tony made him a better one!) when he's away on a mission."

It all had started quite innocently. Tony had spent the week or so in the workshop as one does when one’s boyfriend is on a long mission. The first long mission after receiving his clearance for SHIELD, to be precise, and to Afghanistan, to be even more precise. The genius would argue over the reason as to why he’d been running on 3 hours of sleep in as many days, whether it was the length of time without Bucky or the place he’s been sent to. 

Nevertheless, he was antsy and irritable and all in all so unpleasant that JARVIS only addressed his maker if absolutely necessary. Then, after 32 consecutive hours without sleep, he decided that it would be a good idea to work on Bucky’s old metal arm, the insulting HYDRA one. Do something with it, make it useful. Maybe use it as a mount for a vase, or perhaps as a paperweight. In short: the possibilities where numerous.

But the moment he sat in front of the way too heavy and outdated monstrosity, Tony remembered the first time they had met, the first time he’d repaired the arm, all the times he’d tried to convince Bucky of a lighter and simply better model and the time the super soldier had finally said yes.

All those warm, fuzzy feelings made him sleepy and a healthy twelve hours later he awoke arms curled around the metal one and with a crick in his neck but very well-rested.

-

It took some time until Tony gave in to the sweet, sweet sleep-magic that was Bucky’s old arm. At first, he told himself it was pathetic to sleep with a detached limb, even if it was an unused prosthetic, but eventually he succumbed to the only thing that brought him sleep like only the real deal could give him.

Over time he made a few adjustments: He started to bring the arm to an actual bed, for one, and because he preferred to cuddle up to something squishier and something that smelled more like Bucky, he ordered one of those body pillows, attached the arm to it and dressed the whole thing in his boyfriend’s/later husband’s clothes he’d snuck out of the hamper. He even built a special compartment to hide Pillow-Buck in for when the real deal was around.

-

So these days, he sleeps like the dead even if his husband is out on a mission, all cuddled up to the pillow and with the comforting weight of the arm over his shoulders (or waist because sometimes they spoon). And up to this day, it’s still one of Tony’s best kept secrets.

Or at least so he thinks.


	10. Team Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/145711737411/imagine-bucky-slowly-getting-accepted-by-and):
> 
> "Imagine Bucky slowly getting accepted by and integrated in Team Tony!!! Rhodey, Happy and Pepper witnessing Buckys affection and protectiveness towards Tony and... like... take him out for drinks and stuff and tell him to call them when he needs help? I would love you forever!!"

♠ Happy

Surprisingly it was Happy who noticed it first. After the breakup with Pepper he had taken to keeping an eye on Tony and after a few weeks he realized he wasn’t the only one. Whenever he dropped by to drag his friend out for a few drinks or just to keep him company he found the genius already well fed and sometimes even freshly showered. Happy was glad that the team was taking care of their own and they were, but over time one man surprisingly stood out: James Barnes, the Winter Soldier.

At first Happy was wary of the former assassin’s intentions but he quickly realized that even though the other Avengers brought Tony food or tucked him into bed when he was passed out in the workshop, Barnes was the one that dragged him to team dinners or movie nights or just stayed for a few hours to play with the ‘bots. Happy highly approved of this method so one day he took Barnes aside to hand him his number.

“If you ever need anything, just call.”

♠ Rhodey

Once the novelty amusement had worn off, the mutual pining was just sad. He knew his best friend well enough by now to see that Tony wouldn’t be the one to make the first move and Barnes seemed equally reluctant to take their young friendship to the next step.

The main reason for James’ surprise visit was to check up on his best friend but he would be lying if Happy’s reports on Barnes hadn’t spiked his interest tenfold. And the former bodyguard was right: Tony had something that resembled a normal sleeping schedule, he was eating regularly and he had confided James in his desire to fight his demon in a bottle. In short: James was pleasantly surprised and he decided that while he liked the rest of the team just fine, Barnes had earned himself a special place.

And because the few people who _really got it_ supported each other, James decided to intervene for the sake of their friend and that of their newest member. When Tony was having a rather spectacular science marathon with Bruce, he cornered Barnes in the kitchen.

“Let’s go out for a beer.” He smiled, watching Barnes wary confusion with interest. James was part of Tony’s family, after all. “I know a nice bar. We can steal one of Tony’s cars.”

-

Later that night when they were both pleasantly tipsy, he pulled two tickets to a car show out of his pocket and placed them in front of Bucky. “You might have to drag him away from one or two of the models and Pepper will kill you if you let him buy a company. Just so you know.” James winked at his gaping namesake and rose to fetch them another round.

♠ Pepper

For some time now, Pepper had watched this rather spectacular comedic tragedy from afar. As The Ex she had vowed to stay out of the mess Clint had aptly dubbed “WURST – Woefully Unresolved Romantic and Sexual Tension”.

It all changed when she coincidentally attended an Avengers press conference because Tony could only avoid paperwork for so long. There she watched Mr. Barnes tear anyone to pieces who didn’t think Iron Man had a place on the Avengers and after everything Happy, Rhodey and Natasha told her, this was the last reason she needs to approve of the former assassin. So when they got off stage and she could see Tony work himself into an argument about how he can defend himself just fine, Pepper decided to intervene. She walked up to Tony to shove the manila folder full of important documents right into his arms. Using the distraction, she caught his gaze to give him a stern look.

“Why do you always think you can run away forever?” She asked and apparently he the double meaning to her words. “Please bring this in order.” She added more gently, placed a fond kiss on his cheek and without waiting for a reply, she turned around to face her next victim with a sweet smile.

“Mr. Barnes, may I borrow you for a while?”

After looking between her and Tony for a moment, he reciprocated with a charming smile of his own and nodded. “Of course, Miss Potts. But please call me Bucky.”

“Only if you call me Pepper.”

-

They were halfway through their mani-pedi in Pepper’s favorite spa when she spoke up.

“Tony’s just scared, you know? He still thinks he’s fully accountable for our break up. No matter how many times I try to convince him that it takes two.”

Bucky nodded and thus confirmed his emotional intelligence. “I know. I love him. I really do, but I don’t know how to reassure him that I’m in for the long haul.”

“Keep up what you’re doing and he won’t have reason to think otherwise. You’re on the right path and you’ve obviously got more patience and stubbornness.” Pepper advised and gave him an encouraging smile. “Besides: If it gets hard, you’ve got Happy, Rhodey, and me to back you up.”

At that, Bucky’s expression turned a tad relieved. “I know. Thank you.”


	11. Demisexual Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompts](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/157023320548/we-had-asexual-tony-but-what-about-demisexual):
> 
> "We had asexual Tony, but what about demisexual Tony who has never been sexually attracted to anyone, and then, Bucky happens, and for the first time Tony /wants/ someone and it's driving him crazy because he has never learned how to deal with these kind of feelings."
> 
> and
> 
> "Anon asked: Imagine Bucky pretending he can’t use everyday tech (StarkPad, netflix etc) so Tony would pay attention to him and spend time with him. He feels bad about it but doesn’t know how else to get Tony’s attention short of damaging his own arm."
> 
> (spoiler: there is arm damage implied)

„There might be something wrong with me.“ Tony blurts from his deck chair. Yeah, this was probably badly worded judging by the two pairs of raised eyebrows.

“How so?” Once again, Tony thanks the deities for Pepper Potts and her ability to indulge his quirks. Natasha is usually less than helpful during his more obvious epiphanies and would have let him stew in awkward silence for a little longer. To be fair, she had been awesome at explaining to him that asexuality was a thing but there is a reason why he would go to Pepper or Rhodey or Bruce first when he needs immediate solutions.

“I…” he hesitates even though he knows it’s stupid. These are not only two of the people he trusts the most but who may be able to understand him to some extend or at least have a good grasp on Tony to know the right thing to say. And especially those two always know the right thing to say. “I may have the hots for Bucky. – I mean I think so?”

Natasha hums thoughtfully. “And you’re sure you don’t just find him attractive.” It’s not a question per se but he nods nonetheless.

“I **do** find him attractive but…” he hesitates, struggling to find the right phrasing.

“But your dick has started to have feelings, too?” Pepper completes his sentence with a mischievous glint in her eyes. He prepares to send her a glare but has to concede that her description probably is the most accurate he can get. It still wasn’t nice.

“It means you’re maybe demisexual.” Natasha states as if she’s saying ‘the sky is blue’. But maybe it is? Now that he thinks about it, the term had come up during his research after their first talk. Tony still doesn’t know how that’s supposed to help with the fact that he suddenly wants to jump Bucky Barnes anytime he sees the man. His expression apparently conveys what’s going on in his head because Natasha doesn’t need prompting to continue. “It means that you have no argument whatsoever against asking him out.”

“Except for the tiny, little, totally insignificant fact that he doesn’t feel the same.” Tony interjects, earning himself a round of exasperated groans. Rude.

“идиот.“

„Absolutely. That’s probably why he pretends to not understand technical devices just to spend time with you.“

What? “What?” That can’t be. Why…

“Or why his arm is in a frizz at least 3 times a week during downtime but functions perfectly well during missions and fights.” Natasha adds unhelpfully and smirks at his dawning realization.

“Huh.” Tony’s mind is racing through every interaction he’s ever had with Bucky – at least the ones since he moved into the tower – and… He jumps to his feet. “I have to go.”

 

♠

 

“Dude, this was pathetic two weeks ago, now it’s just sad.”

Bucky flips Clint off and continues to google possible problems with his notebook. He’s already broken the arm twice this week and messing with the keyboard configuration sounds doable, but maybe too easy and he _does_ want to spend some time with Tony. Maybe if he… no. He already spilled Yoghurt on the thing last week.

“Just ask the man out.”

There is no use in telling Clint _again_ why this would only lead to the rejection and subsequent heartbreak Bucky is trying to avoid while strengthening their friendship through quality time. And nobody gets hurt by his approach to make said quality time happen. Well. Except for the tech, of course. The rest of the team seems pretty convinced, that the pining is anything but one-sided and yeah, they flirt constantly because flirting comes naturally to the genius. But whenever Bucky tried to do something more, maybe more physical, in the past, Tony had evaded and retreated. Bucky wants to confess. He really does because every time he catches Tony looking at him, Bucky thinks there might be something there. Just not when he isn’t sure their friendship will survive the confession.

He doesn’t remember seeing the archer move but the press of Clint’s hands on his shoulders from behind shakes him out of his musing. “And no time like the present because your object of desire is coming this way, walking the strut of the remarkably determined.”

What?

Bucky doesn’t even have time to ask how he knows that before he can hear approaching footsteps and Clint lets go of his shoulders to slip out of the room.

“Hey, Buckaroo!” Bucky hears before he sees and can’t suppress his smile in an pavlovian response to Tony’s presence. “Whatcha doing?”

“Uhhh…” he quickly presses a keyboard shortcut to close the browser window which only leaves the game of Solitaire he’d been playing before. “Just playing a bit. What’s up?”

“Nothing much.” Tony slides into the kitchen chair next to him. “May I ask you a question?” Bucky is a bit distracted by the hand that casually finds a place on the back of his chair and merely nods. “Do you really break your tech and your arm to spend time with me?”

Bucky startles by the bluntness of the question. Tony’s voice is calm, even nonchalant but his eyes belie the ease. There’s curiosity, a hint of amusement and something that makes Bucky’s heart skip a beat the moment he deciphers the meaning: hope. He swallows hard, wants to deny it because his plan isn’t quite yet at the stage of confessions but he nods nonetheless. Because Tony deserves the truth.

“I – I like spending time with you and… and I know you’re very busy so…”

Tony snorts. “And that’s why you let my beautiful tech suffer? You could have just asked.”

For a moment, there is quiet as Bucky tries to sort out what exactly he is going to say.

“Maybe, but I probably would have asked you out on a date.” He really has to fight to uphold eye contact but if he has to go down, he will go down with his head held high.

“Why didn’t you?” Tony sounds curious and maybe, maybe it isn’t the wrong time after all.

“Because whenever I tried for more closeness, it seemed like you didn’t like it all that much.”

Tony winces. “Yeah, okay. To be fair: This is all very, very new to me.”

“Liking guys?” Which is ridiculous because Bucky knows Tony’s been with other men.

“No! No, no, no! Not that. More the… ‘wanting to have sex with someone’ part. I know, I know I’ve had sex with enough people to make this sound very strange.”

“Explain it to me?”

Tony exhales deeply. “Alright. I’ll give you the short version: I’ve thought for a long time that I’m a big weirdo for not liking sex. It’s not like I’m repulsed by it but I could think of better use for my time. Unfortunately, everyone pretty much expected of me to be a playboy – being a Stark and all – so I played my role and kept my weird little aversion to myself. Then, a few years back, a little spider told me that there are more people like me. It’s called asexuality. I don’t know if you’ve heard of that.” Bucky shakes his head. “It’s a whole spectrum but generalized it’s the absence of sexual attraction. It’s not like the libido isn’t working but you don’t look at a person and think ‘wow I’d like to have sex with that person’. Anyway, I was relieved to not be the only one and then.” Tony laughs. “Then along comes you. With your perfect smile and your perfect hair and your perfect humor and your overall gorgeousness. And I start to like you and want to take you out to dinner in Paris but people usually want to have sex sometime in the future but I don’t and that’s a deal breaker.” Bucky wants to protest but closes his mouth when Tony shakes his head. “It really is most of the time. Believe me. And now try to imagine my confusion when I suddenly realize what people mean when they say they want to explore every inch of another person’s body, see what makes them writhe and moan. Just…” Tony lets himself fall back on his chair and runs his hands through his already tousled hair.

Bucky, however, is speechless. Not only has Tony confessed to liking him but is also telling him that he is the first person he’s ever really wanted to have sex with. Right now, he’s not quite sure how he has come to such high honors.

And thanks to this in the end rather arousing speech, his pants are getting a little tight.

“Wow.” He finally gets out and turns a bit on his chair to face Tony properly. “I mean: Tony, I really like you. Would you let me take you out to dinner?”

The smile that spreads across Tony’s features is bright and beautiful. “Yeah, I’d like that.”


	12. Kiss-happy Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/157656433786/imagine-tony-being-as-sneaky-kiss-happy-as-rdj-andt):
> 
> "Imagine Tony being as sneaky-kiss-happy as RDJ and just sneakily smooching everyone's cheek whenever he sees the opportunity. Everyone except Bucky, which drives him NUTS because he thought it's ADORABLE and he really wants a kiss dammit."

„… and what’s Coulson’s problem with using baby agents? It’s another kind of very important training for them!” Clint’s rant about post-battle paperwork started about ten minutes ago and doesn’t seem like it’s ending anytime soon. It always starts out as entertaining, especially since he might as well just complete the paperwork in the time it usually takes for him to complain about it, but everyone tends to drift off after a few minutes. Bruce has already given up all pretense and is reading something on his tablet but James still tries to look interested in the rather one-sided conversation even though his eyes look a bit glassy. Natasha herself doesn’t mind the rants of her best friend, having spent enough time in his company, although she also doesn’t mind the distraction that appears from the doorway behind the oblivious archer.

Judging by Tony’s mischievous smirk it’s quite obvious what is about to happen. It still amazes her that she is able to witness this openly affectionate and to some degree trusting side of Tony Stark. But even though she likes to watch whenever Tony sneak-smooches Clint and shuts him up for just a moment, the true spectacle lies somewhere else. For a few weeks now, James has always been reacting the same way and today he doesn’t disappoint either. The moment he spots Tony, his eyes light up and he sits a bit straighter, a bit more alert. Then, when he realizes what’s about to happen, the light in his eyes is a little dimmed by envious hurt, yet there is still an overall fondness like he approves of what Tony’s doing in general. At the moment of the kiss, he looks longing and jealous in equal measure which finally resolves into mournful pouting.

It’s cute, really, and trumps all those stupid romcoms they watch during movie night because for once, she’s actually invested in the characters. Even though said characters are being stupid boys with all their mutual pining.

_“Tony admitted that once he kissed Bucky, he wouldn’t know how to stop.”_

Even without Pepper’s insight, it is obvious how smitten Tony is with James who in turn would be anything but averse to the thought of a make out session with Tony.

Natasha would say that she isn’t a meddler. Clint would snort and say that this is a filthy lie. She knows he’s right sometimes and thus doesn’t feel bad walking up to the genius and whispering loud enough to be heard by anyone interested. “I think you’re forgetting someone and I fear his face will get stuck with a frown if you don’t kiss it better.”

And with a final kiss on his cheek and a smile she leaves the room, listening to the sounds of Clint and Bruce following suit.

She’ll have JARVIS show her the footage later. With popcorn.


	13. Stress-knitter Tony Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/161204563121/i-remember-reading-a-prompt-about-tony-being-a):
> 
> "I remember reading a prompt about Tony being a knitter but no one being the wiser until Bucky figures it out because he wakes up at the wrong moment. I would really like something done in the Knitting Tony verse :D, maybe the others asking for comissions and Bucky trying to help. I'm a knitter so I loved that prompt <3"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I apologize in advance if I got some of the terminology wrong. My translation tools aren’t all that helpful with knitting expressions. Oh and: the way Tony teaches knitting to Bucky is the way my mom taught me. :)

The morning after the big reveal, Bucky wears the first sleeve he ever received (gray with Basketweave) like a badge of honor and Tony just knows that his ears are fire red. Steve is the first to ask and Tony already has a terrible feeling about their reaction when Bucky proudly tells them the truth. At first, there is stunned silence. One that lasts for maybe a minute until the group around the breakfast table erupts in a cacophony of voices and it takes Tony at least as long to decipher what they’re all shouting and chattering. But what he hears completely stuns him: Bruce wants to swap patterns and discuss techniques, Steve praises his handiwork, Natasha wants to know when and how he learned knitting, Thor wants to become his apprentice since a celebration for his mother is coming up and he wants to make something for her and Clint genuinely requests a sleeve for his bow ‘because I don’t want her to freeze during cold missions’.

To say that Tony is dumbfounded may be an understatement. And when he looks at Bucky, his boyfriend simply smiles at him like there was never a doubt about this outcome.

♠

Just like his older friends, the team is soon rewarded for their loyalty. Clint gets his bow sleeve, a dark purple, almost black acrylic yarn in simple Basketweave but with black and lighter purple shading in the right places so Clint’s baby looks like a comic book recurve bow, Natasha receives a dress out of rich chestnut colored merino wool with a [mix of patterns](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fbf%2F36%2F16%2Fbf3616d6d1c44f8093a8efa49ae573f5--sweater-dresses-knit-dress.jpg&t=MDQ3NWMzNWY1YmFmZjQ4ZTU2YjVlZDRmNDAxZmRkZTgxZjEzYTdhMSxjTm9iYzFJMw%3D%3D&b=t%3AKkEgFwNZX1UDB-Wzq5X_fw&p=http%3A%2F%2Fimaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F161204563121%2Fi-remember-reading-a-prompt-about-tony-being-a&m=1) and Steve gets to adore his royal blue sweater with [swirling cable](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.knittingstitchpatterns.com%2F2014%2F09%2Fswirling-cable.html&t=NjU0MDEzYTdiZWQ0ZTBlYTI2MDgwZjEwNDc4ZDJlODcxNGIzMGIyMyxjTm9iYzFJMw%3D%3D&b=t%3AKkEgFwNZX1UDB-Wzq5X_fw&p=http%3A%2F%2Fimaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F161204563121%2Fi-remember-reading-a-prompt-about-tony-being-a&m=1) and [celtic knot ](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fd7%2Fdd%2F5d%2Fd7dd5da0a8b62c081ef2210e3b56586e.jpg&t=NzQ3Y2QzZjliMzhkYjI4NzcwMjhkNzY4OTFkZDI0NTM4YjllZjY3MyxjTm9iYzFJMw%3D%3D&b=t%3AKkEgFwNZX1UDB-Wzq5X_fw&p=http%3A%2F%2Fimaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F161204563121%2Fi-remember-reading-a-prompt-about-tony-being-a&m=1)pattern. With Bruce and Thor, Tony meets pretty regularly for a tiny knitting circle which is kind of nice.

But it doesn’t stop there and the requests keep coming. Natasha subtly tries to trade knitted goods for special Russian and self-defense lessons, Clint begs for a blanket when Lucky’s not feeling so well, Bruce proposes a collaboration on pillowcases for the living room, Jane needs a dress for her handfasting ceremony with Thor, Steve thinks a few oven mitts would come in handy, and, and, and.

On one hand, Tony’s elated and he starts knitting more openly in the common areas, but at the same time, he starts to feel overwhelmed by the additional projects. Where knitting has been a refuge, a way of calming himself down, something he doesn’t need to think about much, something to look forward to, it’s starting to become a chore. He hates to think about knitting that way but he also doesn’t want to disappoint his friends and so he keeps on knitting whenever he doesn’t need his hands for other things.

♠

Bucky, in the meantime, proves to be a perfect boyfriend once again: He doesn’t ask for anything but still gets excited about every knitted piece Tony gifts him and he helps out whenever he can. He sits with Tony to keep him company, fetches new balls of wool whenever Tony runs out and lends his hands to Tony when the genius has to unravel a part and doesn’t want his yarn to become the next Gordian Knot.

It’s sickeningly domestic and Tony loves it.

♠

“Can you show me?” Bucky blurts out one calm Sunday afternoon when they’re sitting on the couch watching some movie. Tony looks up from where he was working on a rather tricky part of Jane’s dress and blinks in confusion.

“Huh?”

“Can… would you show me how to knit? – It looks so soothing and… nice.“ he shrugs and smiles a bit at which Tony simply melts inside.

“Sure! Of course! Let me just-“ Tony untangles himself from his project, sets it neatly aside and rummages around in his knitting basket until he finds a rest of simple, yellow wool and circular knitting needles so Bucky doesn’t have to worry about his first test piece falling off the end of his needles. Then he leans back into Bucky and pulls about a foot and a half of yarn from the ball.

“With the first row you usually determine how wide your piece is going to be.” He then shows how much yarn to leave for a few inches of cloth and explains how to weave yarn around the fingers of his left hand to cast on. Tony then proceeds to cast on 20 stitches and talks through the two first rows in which he shows Bucky left and right stitches before he unravels the whole thing and passes needles and the end of the yarn to Bucky.

It takes a few minutes but Bucky learns quickly and soon he’s got his first few rows with only minor hickups. There are still a few stitches right when they should be left and the other way around but Tony simply shows him how to go back and correct the mistakes. Bucky is still slow but elated and after a little while Tony returns to his own project and the two of them knit in perfect harmony.

Perfect, until Tony feels Bucky tense next to him. His boyfriend freezes and lets out a quiet curse. Tony looks over to where Bucky is holding his needles like a raw egg.

“Tony?” The plea is sheepish but Tony isn’t all too worried. To be honest, he’s kind of been waiting for it.  “I think I just lost a stitch.”

„Don’t worry.“ Tony quickly assures him. He saves his own work, picks up his trusty crochet hook and shows Bucky how to save a lost stitch.

♠

Over the course of the next few weeks, Bucky is an eager student who learns to experiment with left and right stitches as well as casting on and off, how to finish a piece, and how to use different colors. He then starts to take over the simpler requests of the team like the oven mitts for Steve and a scarf for Darcy.

When Bucky presents Tony with his first sweater, a simple knit red sweater with grey cuffs, neckline and hemline, Tony blurts out his first ‘I love you’ and proceeds with thanking Bucky thoroughly for the garment.

It doesn’t fit perfectly and still has a few wrong stitches but it instantly becomes Tony’s favorite.


	14. Scared of horror movies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the [prompt](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/post/161319044108/tony-hates-horros-movies-hes-absolutely):
> 
> "Tony hates horros movies. He's absolutely terrified of them. (not the panic attack kinda scared, just the freaking terrified, jumpy kind). They are watching a horror together with the team and Bucky thinks it's adorable how Tony pretetnds not be scared, but jumps at every sound, covers his face with his hands, moves closer to people sitting next to him etc. Later probably Tony doesn't wanna go to sleep either."

Ugh. He **hates** horror movies.

Tony flinches at another jump scare and barely resists to bury himself further into Bucky’s arms. Rationally, he knows how stupid it is to be terrified of those, often frankly ridiculous, movies. Especially when you’re an Avengers and fighting crazy psychos can be considered a weekly occurrence. He’s not even sure why he’s scared and often paranoid and jumpy afterwards. It’s just the way it is and he prefers such dumb weaknesses to be a secret but after tonight, the cat will probably be out of the bag.

Thank you, Thomas Bennet from the Australian branch office of SI R&D. You and your stupid inability to walk down stairs without injuring your leg. Normally, he’d feel sorry for the guy but he really can’t when there’s a chainsaw murderer running around on screen.

Pepper **loves** his intense dislike of horror movies and is always eerily quick to supply him with important video conferences or meetings whenever the team decides on a horror flick. Tony tries to tell himself that this is how she shows her love but deep down he knows better. But today, not even her CEO-superpowers can save him.

Tony flinches again at an unexpected movement in his vicinity and even though it’s just Bucky’s arm wrapping around his shoulders to pull him closer, it takes a moment until the tension in his body starts to bleed out. They’ve been together for a few weeks now and it’s still new enough to send a nice thrill down Tony’s spine whenever something like this happens and tonight it feels extra comforting.

And it’s still new enough that it doesn’t take long for them to stark making out – and excellent distraction from the movie! – and annoy everyone around them with their PDA. It’s nice. Very nice. Bucky is an excellent kisser and nobody’s mocking them. Tony will later think about the lack of whining, derision and cooing but right now he simply enjoys.

After the make out session and some longing stares into each other’s eyes, the movie is, thankfully, over and everyone is filing out. But where Bucky usually gets him hot and bothered just by existing, Tony’s still a bit jittery from the movie and excuses himself quickly.

“I really need to finish this project or Pepper will neuter me.” He says as an explanation and tries not to see Bucky’s confused and maybe even slightly hurt look when he scampers off.

♠

Tony doesn’t actually work on said project, even though Pepper **did** threaten him with rather unattractive things. Instead he alternates between science articles and videos of unlikely animal friendships and dogs being happy about the safe return of their owner. It is still at least an hour since their goodbye when Bucky requests entry.

Of course, he lets him in.

“How many times do I have to tell you that you have your own codes, Bucky bear.” He calls instead of a normal greeting. “Just let yourself in.” He swivels around in his chair and doesn’t even have to fake a smile.

“This project sounded very important. I didn’t want to startle you.” Bucky replies with a sheepish smile as he approaches. “How’s it going, darlin’?”

Tony feels a little guilty. He should have at least been working on the project.

“Alright, so far.” He answers an, when he remembers that the animal videos are still open, he adds: “Just taking a break.”

“Good timing, then.” Bucky smiles.

“The best.” Tony agrees and snatches his boyfriend’s hand the moment he’s close enough to pull him even closer. “What brings you into my lair?”

“I may have missed you.” Bucky smiles but it’s edged with worry. “Is everything alright?”

Tony nods, then shrugs, then tips his head back and finally gives his head a small shake. He really doesn’t want to tell Bucky what’s bothering him since it’s silly as heck but Pepper tells him communication is key to a working relationship and Tony really, really wants this relationship to work.

“I… don’t like-“ _hate_ is more like it. “- horror movies.” Tony tells the ceiling. “I know it’s absurd, but they kind of keep me paranoid and awake after watching them, so…” He shrugs like it’s no big deal but he still doesn’t look at his boyfriend, too worried about what he might see.

“Oh.” Pause. “Why didn’t you say something, idiot? We could have watched a different movie.” Bucky actually has the audacity to sound exasperated interlaced with fondness and a tiny bit of worry.

“Yeah, of course I’d like everyone to know that I’m scared of horror movies.” Tony scoffs and can’t not look at Bucky.

“Why not? I mean, Steve and Clint are practically bawling whenever a dog dies on screen, Bruce doesn’t like unresolved abuse themes and I’m not good with themes like brainwashing and psychological manipulation. Why do you think you’ll be singled out and, I don’t know, mocked, when you say you don’t want to watch a horror movie?” Bucky has been coming closer until he’s standing in the v of Tony’s legs, his hands cupping Tony’s face. “Have a bit more faith in us. We’re a team and we value your wellbeing. Especially me.”

Tony crumples under the intense stare, swallows and finally nods. It’s apparently enough because Bucky smiles and kisses his forehead.

“Want to snuggle on the couch?” Considering the many times they’ve done this and more, it’s an innocent request but Tony knows it’s about something other than a potential make out session. Bucky knows he won’t be able to coax Tony out of the workshop and he’s enough of a mother hen to feel the need to be close and care for Tony, a grown man, who is ridiculously terrified of scary movies.

In the end he lets Bucky lead them to the couch and Tony has to admit that Bucky-snuggles are the best. His subconscious even deems it safe enough to fall asleep in those strong, partly bionic, arms.


End file.
